Attacker pushes woman into Metra train's path

February 06, 2009

A woman was pushed into the path of a Metra train last night by a man who forced her onto a South Side train platform and demanded a sex act, a Metra spokesman said. The woman was hospitalized in serious condition.

It was not known if the attack was related to a series of robberies of women and a sexual assault near another South Side Metra station, but the descriptions of the assailants appeared to differ.

In the Thursday night attack, the 33-year-old woman was walking in the street in the area of the station at 75th Street and South Chicago Avenue about 11:30 p.m. when a man approached her, implied he had a weapon and forced her onto the train platform, said Metra spokesman Michael Gillis.

He demanded a sex act, he said, and when she refused he pushed her into the path of an inbound Metra Electric train.

The assailant was described as black, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet, 200 to 220 pounds with a heavy build, black curly hair and a full beard. He was wearing blue jeans and a tan plaid jacket.

The woman, who was not identified, was being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A hospital spokesman had no information, but police said her injuries did not appear life threatening. Detectives were interviewing her this morning.

"[The train] was slowing as it was coming into the station, so it wasn't zooming through," Gillis said.

He described the station where the incident occurred as a "flag station," where an engineer will stop a train if someone waiting for it, or if someone abroad the train requests to get off.Gillis said the engineer "noticed that the platform was occupied [with at least one person]," but he did not know if the engineer noticed the victim.

Trains were delayed following the incident, Gillis said.

Earlier this week, police issued a community alert for a man who has approached women walking alone or near the Metra station in the 6300 block of South Dorchester Avenue between Nov. 29 and a week ago Thursday, displaying a large kitchen knife and demanding the victims' property. In one case, the victim was sexually assaulted.

That suspect was described as a black man, 20 to 25 years old, 5-feet-8 to 5-feet10, 150 to 170 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair, a medium complexion and crooked teeth on the upper left side of his mouth.

He has been wearing a black ski cap, a dark-colored coat, a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and Timberland boots or white gym shoes.